New LCGPA Chair as Local Content Hits 51% in 2025

Saudi Arabia's national regulator for local content and government procurement continues its push to expand domestic industry participation in public projects under newly appointed leadership. In August 2026, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was appointed Chairman of the Local Content and Government Procurement Authority (LCGPA), succeeding Bandar bin Ibrahim Alkhorayef.

The Authority oversees local content methodology, scoring, certificates, and audits for entities bidding on public contracts. Local content in government procurement has climbed from about 28% in 2018 to around 51% by 2025, supported by investment agreements exceeding roughly SAR 18 billion.

What is changing for companies

The National Product Mandatory List has expanded to cover about 1,444 domestic products across 16 sectors by the second quarter of 2025, with a target of around 2,000 products in 2026. Additions announced in December 2025 came into force on 1 March 2026, requiring contractors on publicly funded projects to buy these items from domestic manufacturers, subject to justified exceptions.

Tenders using local content mechanisms on the national procurement platform reached about SAR 316.4 billion in value, an implementation rate of 94.1% of total tender value. A new minimum local content requirement of 30% has been introduced for certain government management consulting and IT services tenders, framed as temporary and phased in from 2027, starting with consulting.

Companies bidding on regulated tenders are directed to obtain an LCGPA Local Content Certificate through the Authority's local content portal, linked to the government procurement platform. Guidance indicates the certificate is valid for 19 months from issuance. Local content scoring and mandatory list compliance are integrated into tender evaluation through the central government procurement platform, Etimad.

The framework applies to all government procurement and an expanding set of private-sector mandates. For local manufacturers, suppliers, and service providers, this means stronger preference in public contracts — provided they secure the required certification and meet compliance rules.

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